Philadelphia 76ers (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
The Philadelphia 76ers have gotten off to a great start to the season. In their first year under the Doc Rivers regime, the Sixers are currently 20-10 with sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference. Though they’re 10 games above .500, the roster could use a little retooling before the trade deadline.
Most of the team’s success can be attributed to their superstar center. Joel Embiid has put the team on his back, having an MVP-caliber season. The seven-foot behemoth is averaging 30.5 points, 11 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.3 blocks in 32.6 minutes per game. He’s second in the league in scoring behind Bradley Beal (32.8) while having the most efficient season of his career as well with .547/.400/.853 shooting splits.
Yes, the additions of Danny Green and Seth Curry in the offseason have proven fruitful, but the 76ers are still a mediocre 3-point shooting team. Philly ranks 28th in the league in both 3-pointers attempted (28.5) and made (10.3) per game, and their 36.1 percent conversion rate is good for 17th in the league.
Four of the five starters are shooting north of 38 percent from downtown, with Ben Simmons being the lone exception. On the other hand, the bench unit ranks 30th in the league, shooting 31.4 percent from deep.
Should the Philadelphia 76ers trade for Victor Oladipo?
The 20-10 record is nice, especially when most of the losses came when Covid-19 ripped through the roster and left them with barely enough eligible players to take the floor. Still, while they’ve been great on the defensive end, if Philly wants to be serious title contenders, they’re going to need to bolster the offense.
Before the Sixers Friday night showdown with the Chicago Bulls, Adrian Wojnarowski appeared on ESPN’s NBA Countdown to discuss the 76ers’ trade deadline targets. He alleges that Daryl Morey has been actively seeking a trade in two areas of need. A stretch big and adding a two-way player. You can check out the full breakdown in the clip below.
Victor Oladipo may be the best two-way player in the trade market. The former steals champion, and two-time All-Star is tremendous and unwavering on defense and a remarkable scorer. His ability to put the ball in the hoop and defend at an elite level could make him the perfect target for Morey.
It may prove to be a difficult task with Houston Rockets owner Tillman Fertitta’s reluctance to do business with Morey in the recent past. Still, with Oladipo’s contract set to expire at the end of the season and the Rockets in the early stages of a rebuild, he may be willing to listen this time around.
It all sounds good in theory, but will it work? Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of the Philadelphia 76ers trading for Victor Oladipo and if the risk is worth the reward.
<span class="call_to_action">Related Story:</span> NBA Trade Rumors: 10 potential trade candidates </a> </div>
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<h2>Should the Philadelphia 76ers trade for Victor Oladipo?</h2>
<p>The 20-10 record is nice, especially when most of the losses came when Covid-19 ripped through the roster and left them with barely enough eligible players to take the floor. Still, while they’ve been great on the defensive end, if Philly wants to be serious title contenders, they’re going to need to bolster the offense.</p>
<p>Before the Sixers Friday night showdown with the Chicago Bulls, Adrian Wojnarowski appeared on ESPN’s NBA Countdown to discuss the 76ers’ trade deadline targets. He alleges that Daryl Morey has been actively seeking a trade in two areas of need. A stretch big and adding a two-way player. You can check out the full breakdown in the clip below.</p>
<div class="embed "><iframe width="500" height="281" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/02/20/philadelphia-76ers-trade-victor-oladipo/"https://www.youtube.com/embed/JSeFJBRrFx8?feature=oembed%22 frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p><a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/02/20/philadelphia-76ers-trade-victor-oladipo/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/o/oladivi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Victor Oladipo</a> may be the best two-way player in the trade market. The former steals champion, and two-time All-Star is tremendous and unwavering on defense and a remarkable scorer. His ability to put the ball in the hoop and defend at an elite level could make him the perfect target for Morey.</p>
<p>It may prove to be a difficult task with Houston Rockets owner <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/02/20/philadelphia-76ers-trade-victor-oladipo/"https://sports.yahoo.com/breaking-down-the-james-harden-trade-034233901.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tillman Fertitta’s reluctance to do business with Morey</a> in the recent past. Still, with Oladipo’s contract set to expire at the end of the season and the Rockets in the early stages of a rebuild, he may be willing to listen this time around.</p>
<p>It all sounds good in theory, but will it work? Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of the Philadelphia 76ers trading for Victor Oladipo and if the risk is worth the reward.</p>
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Philadelphia 76ers (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Why the Philadelphia 76ers should trade for Victor Oladipo.</h2>
<p>A healthy Victor Oladipo is one of the more versatile scoring guards in the league. He can take you off the dribble, drive and finish with both hands, excellent mid-range game, and he’s a respectable 3-point shooter. His ability to put the ball on the floor and attack driving lanes open up the offense for his teammates, and he’s a solid playmaker as well, averaging 4.6 assists per game on the season 3.9 for his career.</p>
<p>Oladipo is averaging 19.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.4 steals per game through his first twenty appearances. Now I know the numbers don’t necessarily jump off the screen but allow me to put this into perspective. Only four players in the entire NBA are averaging at least 19 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1.4 steals per game this season, the other three being Nikola Jokic, Kawhi Leonard, and Jimmy Butler.</p>
<p>Not only is Oladipo a prolific scorer, but he’s also a menace on defense. He ranks eighth in the NBA with 3.1 deflections per game and has drawn the sixth-most charges (9). Of all the players to appear in at least 20 games and average at least 30 minutes per game, only Rudy Gobert and LeBron James have registered a better defensive rating than Oladpio’s 104.6.</p>
<p>The beauty of Oladipo’s offensive skill set is that he is capable of leading the bench unit or play alongside the starters. At the time of this writing, the Philadelphia 76ers bench ranks 27th in points (31.9), 29th in assists (5.4), and 11th in turnovers (5.2) per game.</p>
<p>Oladipo is clearly a starting-caliber player, but adding him to the bench unit will give them a much-needed leader and a scoring boost. Oladipo can be featured in a super sixth-man role while being the de facto point guard off the bench, even though he will likely share the court with Tyrese Maxey or Shake Milton.</p>
<p>His ability to play on or off the ball will allow him to be the secondary playmaker to Ben Simmons should he run with the starters. Whether Doc Rivers chooses to shake things up and put him in the starting lineup or have him come off the bench, he will almost certainly be in the closing lineup.</p>
<p>Imagine a closing lineup of Simmons, Oladipo, Danny Green, Tobias Harris, Joel Embiid; it’s going to be pretty tough to score against that group and almost equally as tough to stop them from putting the ball through the basket.</p>
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Philadelphia 76ers (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Why the Philadelphia 76ers shouldn’t trade for Victor Oladipo.</h2>
<p>The Philadelphia 76ers will most likely have to give up a package of young talent, and draft picks to get a deal done. Once upon a time, this writer would have advocated for such a deal because a healthy Victor Oladipo gives the Sixers four All-Star caliber players. That rarely seems to be the case with Oladipo anymore, though.</p>
<p>When he first returned from the ruptured quad tendon injury he suffered in Jan 2019, he looked like a shell of himself. After such a long layoff, rust is expected, and we knew it would take a while for him to get into game shape after not playing for over a year, but it wasn’t until this season that we started to see flashes of pre-injury Oladipo.</p>
<p>These flashes of brilliance and glimpses of the level of play that made him a two-time All-Star had everyone fawning over Oladipo and convinced the Houston Rockets to pull the trigger on a trade for him. Yes, Oladipo has looked better than he did last season when he first returned, but he still isn’t quite the player he once was.</p>
<p>Sure he can help the team, but only if he’s able to get on the court. He’s already missed 10 games this season due to “injury management,” rest, and now a foot injury that has sidelined him for the last three games.</p>
<p>In addition to the question marks surrounding his health, Oladipo is raking in $21 million this season and is set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer. If he walks in free agency, nothing short of winning the NBA Finals this year will make it worth trading for Oladipo, much like when the franchise traded for Jimmy Butler in 2018.</p>
<p>Due to their cap situation, the 76ers would have to match salaries while sacrificing youth and draft capital for a potential one-year rental. Daryl Morey and Elton Brand each have a reputation for making perilous decisions, but this is one they should maybe think twice about before pulling the trigger.</p>
<p>All-Star Oladipo could do wonders for a Sixers offense that still experiences periods of stagnance. Still, he doesn’t look like the quad injury is completely behind him, and if he gets hurt again, the Sixers would have merely traded for a $21 million cheerleader in street clothes.</p>
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